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　　Monday's meeting at the White House between President George Bush and President-elect Barack Obama is the latest symbol of a presidential transition that appears to be moving ahead smoothly¹, at least initially².

　　美国现任总统布什和当选总统奥巴马星期一在白宫的会晤是显示总统交接工作正在平稳进行的最新迹象，至少在开始阶段看来是顺利的。

　　With the United States facing a major international financial crisis and still engaged in two wars overseas, there are plenty of reasons to ensure the transition from the 43rd president to the 44th is a smooth one.

　　美国正面临重大的国际金融危机，同时还在海外进行著两场战争。此时此刻，有充分的理由要确保第43任总统的权力向第44任总统顺利过渡。

　　But the past two Democratic presidents had their share of problems early on, even though both had Democratic majorities in the Congress.

　　此前的两位民主党总统在上任之初都遇到了问题，尽管当时的国会都由民主党控制。

　　Bill Clinton moved slowly to put his team in place after the 1992 election, and he immediately got bogged³ down in a politically divisive debate over gays in the U.S. military.

　　Jimmy Carter's transition team prepared well before the 1976 election. But that did not stop in-fighting among White House aides or conflicts among congressional Democrats⁴ early in his administration.

　　卡特的过渡班子在1976年选举前准备充分，但却未能制止卡特政府初期白宫助手间的内斗和国会民主党人之间的冲突。

　　Already, some experts see the Obama team as better prepared to deal with the transition and the first days of governing.

　　目前，一些专家认为，奥巴马的班子为交接工作和开始治理国家做好了更充分的准备。

　　John Fortier is a political expert at the American Enterprise Institute and a guest on VOA's Encounter program.

　　约翰.福蒂埃是美国企业研究所政治专家，他在美国之音的节目中谈及对这个问题的看法。

　　"I think Obama actually has a chance to do better, certainly than the last two Democratic presidents, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, both of whom had very rocky starts even though they had Democratic congresses," said John Fortier.

　　福蒂埃说：“我认为奥巴马确实有可能做得更好，肯定会比前两位民主党总统卡特和克林顿做得好。卡特和克林顿当选后，虽然民主党掌控著国会，但他们两人最初的日子却非常不顺。”

　　Former presidents Clinton and Carter were Washington outsiders bent⁵ on reforming government. Fortier says Mr. Obama may have an advantage in having served in the Senate for the past four years.

　　前总统克林顿和卡特都是华盛顿的圈外人，一心要改造政府。福蒂埃说，奥巴马过去4年在参议院的经历可能对他有帮助。

　　"Also, Barack Obama seems to be showing that he understands the need for Washington experience," he said. "He did this as a junior senator. Many of our recent presidents have been outsiders who in some ways thumbed their nose at the Washington ways and brought in too many people from their home state."

　　他说：“另外，奥巴马似乎在表明，他知道华盛顿经验的重要性。他是作为一个新科参议员获得这些经验的。最近我们一些总统完全是圈外人，对华盛顿的行为方式不屑一顾，而且从自己的家乡州带来了太多的人。”

　　Like Clinton and Carter, Obama will have a Democratic majority in both houses of Congress. Democrats in particular have high expectations to quickly change the direction of the country, something they may have to temper early in the new administration.

　　像克林顿和卡特政府一样，奥巴马也将面临一个民主党在参众两院都占多数的国会。民主党人特别热切地期待著迅速改变国家的方向，但在新政府上任之初，他们可能不得不让这种热望降一降温。

　　Tom DeFrank is Washington bureau chief for the New York Daily News who has long covered U.S. presidential politics.

　　汤姆.德弗兰克是纽约日报华盛顿记者站主任，长期以来报导美国总统政治。

　　"What I am being told the Obama people are going to do is to start out with things where they are guaranteed legislative⁶ successes, things that will unite the party and will be popular in the country and don't cost a lot of money," said Tom DeFrank.

　　他说：“我得知，奥巴马一班人首先要从那些保证能在国会通过的事情上下手，也就是那些既能团结民主党、又能得到全国民众的支持，同时又不用花很多钱的事情。”

　　Obama won the election in large part because Americans want a different approach on the economy, the number one issue in this year's campaign.

　　奥巴马之所以赢得选举，在很大程度上是因为美国人希望改变经济政策，而经济是今年竞选的头号议题。

　　Analyst⁷ Stuart Rothenberg expects congressional Democrats to defer⁸ to the new president as he shapes his economic agenda.

　　分析人士斯图尔特.罗腾堡认为，在奥巴马制定经济计划的时候，国会民主党人会听从新总统的意见。

　　"I think the president is going to dictate⁹ the agenda early on, and I have a hard time believing that huge elements of the [Democratic] Party are going to reject some of his individual initiatives, especially if they are jobs programs, public works programs and even health care," said Stuart Rothenberg.

　　罗腾堡说：“我认为总统上任之初就会对经济计划做出指示，而且我很难相信民主党多数人会拒绝接受他的一些计划和建议，特别是如果这些计划是关于就业和公共工程项目，甚至是关于医保问题的。”

　　Republicans are also offering the president-elect some advice. Ken¹⁰ Duberstein worked for former President Ronald Reagan. Duberstein says when Reagan was first elected in 1980, Republicans urged him to take on a wide variety of domestic issues in the early days of his administration.

　　共和党人也对当选总统提出了一些忠告。肯.杜贝斯坦曾为前总统里根工作。他谈到，里根1980年第一次当选的时候，共和党人敦促他在上任之初先着手处理各种各样的国内问题。

　　"And the Reagan answer was, no, we are going to focus the country on one major priority," said Ken Duberstein. "That may have some sub-parts to it, but everything we do is going to be about economic recovery."

　　他说：“里根的回答是，不，我们要让国家把精力集中在一个优先问题上。这个优先重点可能会有一些附带的问题，但我们所做到一切都将是为了经济复苏。”

　　Another hopeful sign for this transition is the early cooperation between the Obama team and the Bush White House.

　　这次总统交接工作中另一个令人鼓舞的迹象是奥巴马团队和布什的白宫之间从现在就开始的合作。

　　Political expert Norman Ornstein spoke¹¹ about that on VOA's Press Conference USA program.

　　政治问题专家诺曼.奥恩斯坦在美国之音的节目中谈到这一点。

　　"The biggest change is that President Bush, to his everlasting¹² credit, is stepping in with a new transition council and with a very direct effort to try and bring the team that was elected up to speed on national security issues beginning the day after the election," said Norman Ornstein.

　　他说：“最大的变化就是，布什总统组建了一个新的过渡班子，付出了非常直接的努力，从选举后的第二天开始，就全面透彻地向新当选团队介绍国家安全问题。这要归功于布什总统。”

　　Barack Obama will take the oath of office as the 44th president on January 20 of next year.

　　巴拉克.奥巴马明年1月20号将宣誓就任，成为美国第44任总统。